The very steep Zephyr Express was relocated from the front side and replaced two Poma doubles.The bottom terminal is an early Poma design with an Alpha drive.Upper terminal seen from below.Tower 14.Side view of the top terminal with upgraded wood cladding.Unloading area and operator house.Another view of the top station.Instead of combination assemblies, this part of the lift features back to back support and depression sheaves.Middle part of the lift line.The first few towers.Side view of the long bottom terminal complex.Large parking area down below.Alpha drive unit and bullwheel.Lift overview.View up from the bottom terminal.Side view of the turnaround at the bottom.Alpha drive unit.Lift line in winter.
34 thoughts on “Zephyr Express – Hunter Mountain, NY”
Collin ParsonsMay 2, 2019 / 10:23 pm
I love now the upgraded top terminal looks with the wood siding. This lift is very underutilized because they don’t like to make snow on Annapurna or Westway so there are effectively just 2 trails off it. Capacity is 2000/hr, design speed is 1000 feet per minute, and the motor is 600 hp. They usually run it at about 850 feet per minute.
Probably the only other project comparable to Hunter’s is Big Sky upgrading Ramcharger 4 to a high speed eight pack and using the original Ramcharger quad to upgrade Shedhorn. Which, much like Zephyr at Hunter, had the terminals reskinned (in Shedhorn 4’s case, by having UNI G terminals outfitted over the UNI contours).
When I rode this back in early March, it didn’t feel as new and polished as I thought it would. It certainly feels like it was built in 1987 but that’s not necessarily a problem. It got me to the top of the mountain safely, quickly, and without issue.
How many other Alpha Evolution lifts are still running? I only know of this lift, and 2 in Colorado (Pioneer at Winter Park and Coney Glade at Snowmass). I know these lifts are a dying breed, which is why I am happy Hunter decided to restore and relocate this.
Ace Quad #2 in Niseko Japan was still alive and kicking when I was there last season. Including night skiing every day, so it must have racked up a lot of operating hours.
I did see the Zephyr run at least once this year, I want to say last weekend (E was the only lift not running), but I highly doubt it would run any weekdays or non peak weekends. With 2 6 packs covering all the terrain and the lift only really serving 3 double blacks, it isn’t a large priority.
This is a very interesting lift. It uses the chairs, grips, towers, terminal masts, and the Alpha drive unit (just the building) from the old lift, but everything else was built 2010-2011 (except I want to say Snowlite at some point was converted from chains to tires before being replaced). The entire lift was shipped to France for the 2010-2011 season, gutted, and Poma built a new lift on the bones of the old one. It is truly one of a kind (which also explains why Vail doesn’t like running it). It is complete overkill for the terrain it serves, but it is pretty awesome overkill. Also, the Zephyr usually has the friendliest lifties, or did before Vail (and before Peak).
I saw some photos of the construction process, and I thought they had reused the terminal mechanisms as well. I was under the impression that the only thing new here is the wooden siding. Where did you hear/see that it went to France? That seems cost-prohibitive.
I remember when the lift was announced, that it was sent to France for an overhaul, and I heard that from the owners at the time. The drive is definitely new and an Alpha Evolution would use chains (which this lift does not). This was back in 2011 and I don’t fully remember the details, but this wasn’t just a simple relocation.
Also, another fun fact about this lift, despite it only having 67 chairs, there was a chair 89 on the line the first year (since been renumbered).
I remember following the construction that summer. The terminal mechanisms were reused, except that the bottom terminal was converted to tires (top had already been converted while in the previous location). They did replace the motor and install new controls. I’m pretty sure nothing went to France. In fact, many of the parts were simply left near where they were to be installed, since the relocation was done a year later.
That whole west side is basically abandoned by vail. Westway has 6 foot tall trees growing down the middle. If they want to more utilization out of that area, maybe a second smaller base area to take some crowds off of the main base, and another intermediate trail that winds past annapurna.
Other than that, wayout and claires (the only trails open usually) are not enough of a draw.
Update: As of the 2025/26 season, Bergerie at Orcières Merlette 1850 and Beauregard at the Combloux Ski Resort have now been retired and either removed or replaced. We now have 13 original Alpha Evolutions left in operation plus some Japanese counterparts left in operation, some of which are now 41 years old and counting. Not sure how long Zephyr Express has left in operation, but I think either 5-10 years considering it got a refurb in 2011 and the lift itself is rarely open because the trails it serves has bad snow coverage kind of like how Palisades at Red Lodge used to be rarely open before the trail network got snowmaking upgrades.
The lifts that are still in operation are as follows
Grand Artimont at La Bresse – Hohneck (1984)Repose at La Norma (1984, Refurbished 2013 with Retrofitted Terminals and New Chairs)Schlucht at La Schlucht (1984/85) Fixed Grip Conversion, Largely originalPré Richard at Bernex Ski Resort (1986)Mouly at Cambre-d’Aze (1987)Idéal Sport at Evasion Mont Blanc (1987)Pas de la Casa at Grandvalira in Andorra (1987)Alpauris at Alpe d’Huez (1988)Village at Les Deux Alpes (1988)Pic at La Colmiane (2011 Relocation)Loze Express at Les Trois Vallées (2014 Relocation)Sleipner at Vallåsen Sweden (2004 Location)Kaafar Meydan at Qazvin in Iran
Kind of random but I wonder if these lifts can be fixed with car parts or generic machinery parts. It wont work for the grips but a lot of the equipment to drive the tires and acceleration equipment in these lifts look like drive shafts and gearboxes
Lift Blog 
I love now the upgraded top terminal looks with the wood siding. This lift is very underutilized because they don’t like to make snow on Annapurna or Westway so there are effectively just 2 trails off it. Capacity is 2000/hr, design speed is 1000 feet per minute, and the motor is 600 hp. They usually run it at about 850 feet per minute.
LikeLiked by 2 people
LikeLike
LikeLike
They did an awesome job with fixing up this one, wish more resorts would do something similar with their old detachables.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Probably the only other project comparable to Hunter’s is Big Sky upgrading Ramcharger 4 to a high speed eight pack and using the original Ramcharger quad to upgrade Shedhorn. Which, much like Zephyr at Hunter, had the terminals reskinned (in Shedhorn 4’s case, by having UNI G terminals outfitted over the UNI contours).
LikeLike
When I rode this back in early March, it didn’t feel as new and polished as I thought it would. It certainly feels like it was built in 1987 but that’s not necessarily a problem. It got me to the top of the mountain safely, quickly, and without issue.
LikeLike
Has this chair been reliable after it was relocated?
LikeLike
How many other Alpha Evolution lifts are still running? I only know of this lift, and 2 in Colorado (Pioneer at Winter Park and Coney Glade at Snowmass). I know these lifts are a dying breed, which is why I am happy Hunter decided to restore and relocate this.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ace Quad #2 in Niseko Japan was still alive and kicking when I was there last season. Including night skiing every day, so it must have racked up a lot of operating hours.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ace #2 at Niseko is now replaced by a 10 Person Nippon Cable/Doppelmayr Gondola in 2024
There is a bunch of other Japanese Alpha Evolution lifts still in service though
LikeLike
There are still some in Europe but they’re getting replaced quickly there too.
LikeLike
Here’s an interesting one.
https://www.remontees-mecaniques.net/bdd/reportage-tsd3-ardasla-poma-7775.html
A more typical version.
https://www.remontees-mecaniques.net/bdd/reportage-tsd4-del-mouli-poma-845.html
LikeLike
No others in North America now! Zephyr is the only one!
LikeLike
This lift is listed as “out of operating schedule” on the EpicMix app.
LikeLike
I did see the Zephyr run at least once this year, I want to say last weekend (E was the only lift not running), but I highly doubt it would run any weekdays or non peak weekends. With 2 6 packs covering all the terrain and the lift only really serving 3 double blacks, it isn’t a large priority.
LikeLike
This is a very interesting lift. It uses the chairs, grips, towers, terminal masts, and the Alpha drive unit (just the building) from the old lift, but everything else was built 2010-2011 (except I want to say Snowlite at some point was converted from chains to tires before being replaced). The entire lift was shipped to France for the 2010-2011 season, gutted, and Poma built a new lift on the bones of the old one. It is truly one of a kind (which also explains why Vail doesn’t like running it). It is complete overkill for the terrain it serves, but it is pretty awesome overkill. Also, the Zephyr usually has the friendliest lifties, or did before Vail (and before Peak).
LikeLike
I saw some photos of the construction process, and I thought they had reused the terminal mechanisms as well. I was under the impression that the only thing new here is the wooden siding. Where did you hear/see that it went to France? That seems cost-prohibitive.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I remember when the lift was announced, that it was sent to France for an overhaul, and I heard that from the owners at the time. The drive is definitely new and an Alpha Evolution would use chains (which this lift does not). This was back in 2011 and I don’t fully remember the details, but this wasn’t just a simple relocation.
Also, another fun fact about this lift, despite it only having 67 chairs, there was a chair 89 on the line the first year (since been renumbered).
LikeLike
Alpha Evolutions definitely used chains, but there was a tire contour conversion kit (which we put on the old Flyer at Copper in 2005).
LikeLiked by 1 person
I remember following the construction that summer. The terminal mechanisms were reused, except that the bottom terminal was converted to tires (top had already been converted while in the previous location). They did replace the motor and install new controls. I’m pretty sure nothing went to France. In fact, many of the parts were simply left near where they were to be installed, since the relocation was done a year later.
LikeLike
Vail despises redundant lifts. And Zephyr in their mind is redundant since you can ski out of West via a green trail over to the North 6 pack.
Look at all the lift replacements in the east under Vail. Nearly all are removing redundant lifts: double-doubles, tandem lifts, etc.
LikeLike
That whole west side is basically abandoned by vail. Westway has 6 foot tall trees growing down the middle. If they want to more utilization out of that area, maybe a second smaller base area to take some crowds off of the main base, and another intermediate trail that winds past annapurna.
Other than that, wayout and claires (the only trails open usually) are not enough of a draw.
LikeLike
Does anyone have/know of a picture of this lift and Z Double running side by side in 2011-12?
LikeLike
With the removal of Coney Glade, this will be the only poma detachable with a separate alpha drive terminal still in service
LikeLike
Well, around here, at least. There are more in Europe and Japan.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Besides Hunter Mountain, there are 14 other Alpha Drive Detachable still in service in Europe plus several more equaliant in Japan
These are
Grand Artimont (1984)
Repose (1984, Rebuilt 2013 with Retrofitted Terminals and Puckrest Chairs)
Schlucht (1984/85) Fixed Grip Conversion, Largely original
Beauregard (1985)
Bergerie (1986)
Pré Richard (1986)
Mouly (1987) Was Trialed with Bubbles in the first years
Idéal Sport (1987)
Pas de la Casa (1987) Andorra
Alpauris (1988)
Village (1988)
Loze Express (2014 Reinstallation)
Sleipner (2004 Reinstallation)
Plus one Combo Lift in Iran
LikeLike
Nice to see pictures of the Alpha-falcon chondola and bubble chair.
LikeLike
Update: As of the 2025/26 season, Bergerie at Orcières Merlette 1850 and Beauregard at the Combloux Ski Resort have now been retired and either removed or replaced. We now have 13 original Alpha Evolutions left in operation plus some Japanese counterparts left in operation, some of which are now 41 years old and counting. Not sure how long Zephyr Express has left in operation, but I think either 5-10 years considering it got a refurb in 2011 and the lift itself is rarely open because the trails it serves has bad snow coverage kind of like how Palisades at Red Lodge used to be rarely open before the trail network got snowmaking upgrades.
The lifts that are still in operation are as follows
Grand Artimont at La Bresse – Hohneck (1984)Repose at La Norma (1984, Refurbished 2013 with Retrofitted Terminals and New Chairs)Schlucht at La Schlucht (1984/85) Fixed Grip Conversion, Largely originalPré Richard at Bernex Ski Resort (1986)Mouly at Cambre-d’Aze (1987)Idéal Sport at Evasion Mont Blanc (1987)Pas de la Casa at Grandvalira in Andorra (1987)Alpauris at Alpe d’Huez (1988)Village at Les Deux Alpes (1988)Pic at La Colmiane (2011 Relocation)Loze Express at Les Trois Vallées (2014 Relocation)Sleipner at Vallåsen Sweden (2004 Location)Kaafar Meydan at Qazvin in Iran
LikeLiked by 1 person
Pictures of the Combi Lift in Iran
https://www.google.com/maps/place/%D8%AA%D9%84%D9%87+%D8%B3%DB%8C+%DB%8C%DA%98+%D9%82%D8%B2%D9%88%DB%8C%D9%86%E2%80%AD/@36.4705788,50.1291355,3a,75y,90t/data=!3m8!1e2!3m6!1sCIABIhARNqs5ww1Pgn3Vi9s88kQT!2e10!3e12!6shttps:%2F%2Flh3.googleusercontent.com%2Fgps-cs-s%2FAG0ilSwUV6svQJaXR1NA4YAxP0cflgkPuNIhxp6McUNS3pdbM5mcJ1YYTfR7PIZ6Ezyf-UvQ5rn689L_6KIavClXUCryraOp1RVNzhCkvu0RFFUnAQg_azE61MUHD7YyuKFG8oz-N2Tx3vLeo9FR%3Dw203-h270-k-no!7i3472!8i4624!4m11!1m2!2m1!1z2KrZhNmB2LHZitmDINmC2LLZiNmK2YYg2LPZitis!3m7!1s0x3f8b5145832076f5:0xe8040f8f72dad2f4!8m2!3d36.4705983!4d50.1291075!10e5!15sCh7YqtmE2YHYsdmK2YMg2YLYstmI2YrZhiDYs9mK2KySAQpza2lfcmVzb3J04AEA!16s%2Fg%2F11lx_2v__b?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MTIwMi4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D
LikeLike
Kind of random but I wonder if these lifts can be fixed with car parts or generic machinery parts. It wont work for the grips but a lot of the equipment to drive the tires and acceleration equipment in these lifts look like drive shafts and gearboxes
LikeLike
Short answer- no. The parts that can be sourced from other places aren’t the issue, the lift-specific components are.
LikeLike
Besides Hunter Mountain, there are 14 other Alpha Drive Detachable still in service in Europe plus several more equaliant in Japan
These are
Grand Artimont (1984)
Repose (1984, Rebuilt 2013 with Retrofitted Terminals and Puckrest Chairs)
Schlucht (1984/85) Fixed Grip Conversion, Largely original
Beauregard (1985)
Bergerie (1986)
Pré Richard (1986)
Mouly (1987) Was Trialed with Bubbles in the first years
Idéal Sport (1987)
Pas de la Casa (1987) Andorra
Alpauris (1988)
Village (1988)
Loze Express (2014 Reinstallation)
Sleipner (2004 Reinstallation)
Plus one Combo Lift in Iran
LikeLiked by 2 people
Besides Hunter Mountain, there are 14 other Alpha Drive Detachable still in service in Europe plus several more equaliant in Japan
These are
Grand Artimont (1984)
Repose (1984, Rebuilt 2013 with Retrofitted Terminals and Puckrest Chairs)
Schlucht (1984/85) Fixed Grip Conversion, Largely original
Beauregard (1985)
Bergerie (1986)
Pré Richard (1986)
Mouly (1987) Was Trialed with Bubbles in the first years
Idéal Sport (1987)
Pas de la Casa (1987) Andorra
Alpauris (1988)
Village (1988)
Loze Express (2014 Reinstallation)
Sleipner (2004 Reinstallation)
Plus one Combo Lift in Iran
LikeLiked by 2 people
For the Japanese Alpha Evolutions or similar systems still in operation we got
Paradise at Nozawa Onsen
The Quad at Minakami Kogen
The Quad at Nomugi Toge
The Bundaira Gondola at Shiga Kogen
The Tambara Kogen Quad
Yodel 1 at Akakura Onsen
Tsugaike Central at Tsugaike Kogen
LikeLiked by 1 person